Sunday 15 May 2016

Kothamalli Mangai Thokku (Green Mango and Coriander Chutney)

Kothamalli Mangai Thokku
Green Mango and Coriander Chutney


Thokku is in between vegetable dish and a pickle. It is made in South Indian homes.  In thokku water content is reduced and it can be kept for longer period.  Thokku can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 months in a clean dry glass bottle. Thokku can be made with other veggies too.  It can be eaten as a dip, spread, or as pickle. You can eat it with Bread, dosa, chapati and curd rice or eat it mixed with steamed rice. 

Ingredients
8 small Raw Mangoes cut into pieces 
1 medium size bunch Coriander leaves with stems chopped 
8 Green Chillies cut into pieces 
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp Chana dal 
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds 
Few Curry leaves 
1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder 
Salt to taste 
3/4 cup Sesame Oil

Method
Heat the 1 tbsp oil and add the mangoes, green chillies and coriander leaves. Stir fry till all the water dries up. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Put the mangoes,  green chillies and coriander leaves into a grinder. Grind the ingredients into a smooth paste. Heat the remaining oil in a wok. Add the urid and chana dal. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seed. Let it crackle. Add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Sauté it for few seconds. Add the paste and salt, cook it for 10 to 15 minutes on low flame, stirring it occasionally, till the oil releases from the paste. Remove it from the flame and let it cool. It can be stored in a clean and dry glass bottle for 2 months in the fridge. Serve this with sandwich, dosa, chapati or curd rice.

Chicken and Ripe Mango Curry...

Chicken and Ripe Mango Curry.... 
I love the flavour of the coconut and the tangy sweet taste of the mango in this recipe. It has the rich creamy texture due to the coconut milk added to the dish.  This dish can be eaten with rice, Chappati or paratha..

Ingredients 
750 grams Chicken pieces 
1 Onions chopped 
1 Tomato chopped 
1 Ripe Mango cut into cubes 
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste 
2 Green chillies broken into pieces 
2 tbsp Madras Curry powder 
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 
1/2 tsp Chilli powder 
Salt to taste 
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Few Curry leaves 
1 tetra pack Coconut milk 
2 tbsp Oil 
Few Coriander leaves chopped 
Method 

Take a wok, add oil. Let it heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add the onions. Sauté it till it is light brown in colour. Add the green chillies, garlic and ginger paste. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the chicken. Stir it, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally. Add the tomatoes, curry powder, salt and turmeric powder. Stir it and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the chopped mango. Stir it. Cook for 2 minutes. Switch off the flame. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Madras Curry Powder 
Ingredients 
2 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp Fenugreek seeds 
2 tsp Mustard seeds 
2 tsp Fennel seeds 
1 tbsp Poppy seeds 
1 tbsp Sesame seeds 
4 small pieces of Cinnamon stick
10 Cardamom 
1 tsp Cloves 
1 tsp Pepper Corns 
8 Red Dry Spicy Chillies 
2 sprigs Curry leaves 
2 tbsp Turmeric powder 
1 tsp Nutmeg powder 

Method
Take a pan, add all the spices except for the curry leaves, turmeric powder and nutmeg powder. Roast the spices for a minute. Remove it and keep aside. Roast the curry leaves. Let the spices cool down. Add the turmeric powder, nutmeg powder  and all the other ingredients in the grinder, and grind it into a fine powder. Store it in a dry and clean bottle.

Friday 13 May 2016

Chingri Macher Bhorta

Chingri Macher Bhorta 
Prawn Bharta 

This is  a very popular Bangladeshi dish. It is spicy mashed prawns dish flavoured with garlic, ginger, fried dry chillies and mustard oil. It is eaten with steamed hot rice. You can actually finish all the rice with this dish.. 
Ingredients
1 cup medium size Prawns deshelled and cleaned
2 Onions sliced
4 Garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp Ginger minced
2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped
3 Dry Red chillies
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Mustard oil

Method
Take a pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Heat it till smoking hot. Lower the flame, fry the red chillies till brown in colour, remove and keep it aside. In the same pan, add the garlic and ginger. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the prawns and sauté it till it is cooked. Remove it from the pan and cool it. Add it into the grinder and roughly grind it... some pieces of the prawns should be seen or the prawns can be chopped into small pieces. Take a mixing bowl, crush 2 chillies and add it in the bowl. Add the onions, coriander leaves, salt and mustard oil. Mix it well. Add the prawns and mix again. Garnish with some more coriander leaves and the remaining chilli. Serve it with hot steaming rice.
P. S. Instead of sautéing the prawns, boiled prawns can be also used. Fresh green chillies can also be used instead of dry red chillies. 

Thursday 12 May 2016

Eggless Nutty Brownie Banana Cake Loaf...


This is a soft cake with a chewy brownie base..... 


For the Brownie 
Ingredients 
140 grams  Dark Chocolate broken into pieces
55 grams Butter
50 grams Brown Sugar
40 grams All Purpose Flour 
2 pinches of Soda bicarbonate 
1 pinch of Baking powder 
50 grams Curd
2 tbsp Broken pieces of Walnuts


Method 
Prepare the loaf tin with greasing and laying the parchment paper and again greasing it with oil. 
Melt the chocolate and butter on low heat. Remove and leave to cool slightly. Stir in brown sugar until mix it well. Add in curd, mix well. Fold in flour, soda bicarbonate and baking powder, mix until well combined. Add the walnuts and fold the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake it in preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees celcius. Meanwhile when the   brownie is baking, prepare the batter for the banana cake.

For the Banana Cake
Ingredients 
120 grams All Purpose Flour 
100 grams Butter
100 grams SugarFree or Sugar 
4 grams Baking powder
4 grams Soda Bicarbonate
2 Ripe Banana Mashed
1 tsp Banana essence 
2 drops of Yellow Food Colour (optional) 
50 ml Milk

Method 
Beat the butter with sugarfree until creamy. Add the mashed banana, essence, food colour and Milk.  Add the flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate. Beat it well. By now the brownie must have bake. Remove the brownie and pour the cake batter on the brownie, bake in the oven at 160 degree celcius for 35 to 40 minutes or until baked. Insert a tooth pick in the middle to check if done. Cool it completely before cutting...

Friday 6 May 2016

Baked Creamy Mango Sandesh (SugarFree)

Baked Creamy Mango Sandesh (SugarFree)
This Bengali sweet is creamy and soft. It is made with #SugarFree, cottage cheese and mango pulp as the key ingredients used in it. 

For the Creamy Mixture 
Ingredients 
1 cup Cream
2 cups Milk 
1 cup SugarFree 
1 cup Mango pulp 
Pinch of Cardamom powder

Method 
Take a pan and add milk in it, simmer the milk and reduce it to a cup, stirring it occasionally. Add Sugarfree and stir it until it dissolves. Let it cool down. Add the cream, mango pulp and cardomom powder. Mix it well. keep it aside.

For the Sandesh 
Ingredients 
2 cups of Cottage cheese  (Paneer)
Creamy mixture..
Chopped Mango for Garnishing
1 tbsp Rose Syrup 
 
Method 
Blend the cottage cheese in a blender till light and fluffy. Add the creamy mixture and blend it again.

To make the Baked Creamy Mango Sandesh
Ingredients 
Take a silicone mould, grease it with ghee. Add the mixture into the mould. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes at 180 degrees celcius in a preheated oven. Once it is set, take it out and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Garnish it with chopped mangoes and drizzle it with Rose syrup. Serve it cold.